The Sunday Junkie: April 28 edition

Saturday night’s UFC 159 event will long be remembered as a night full of odd moments, and this week’s edition of “The Sunday Junkie” discusses many of them from Jon Jones‘ broken toe, the night’s two eye-poke incidents and the role of faulty equipment in today’s game.

UFC 159 dominated entries to our weekly reader feedback feature, but with one of the month’s top stories coming to an end – the suspension and subsequent return of UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione – “Meathead” was brought to the forefront once again, as well.

But this week’s winner, Las Vegas’ Carl Dominguez, shied away from the oddities of UFC 159 or the controversy surrounding Mitrione and looked instead at the incredible work of UFC light heavyweight champ Jones, who he believes sent a very direct message to top pound-for-pound fighter Anderson Silva.

For his winning entry, Carl wins a free one-year subscription to “Fighters Only” magazine, the world’s leading MMA and lifestyle magazine.

Want to submit to next week’s edition of The Sunday Junkie? Scroll to the bottom of the page for instructions.

Also, as a reminder, please be sure to include your hometown and stick within the 150-word limit (and include your submission in the body of an email, not in an attachment). Many quality submissions this week didn’t meet those minimum guidelines and couldn’t be considered for publication.

(Pictured: Anderson Silva)

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JON JONES’ WIN A MESSAGE TO ANDERSON SILVA

Saturday night Jon “Bones” Jones left a lasting impression when he dispatched challenger Chael Sonnen with ease. But it’s not what he did that left many of us surprised. It’s how he did it that left a lasting impression. Jones Chael Sonnened Chael Sonnen. Jones also sent a subtle yet clear message. That message, though, wasn’t directed at the boisterous challenger. That message was for Anderson “The Spider” Silva. The message read, “Anderson, I’m going to one-up you, right now. This is why you shouldn’t super-fight me.” Jones’ final flurry began with a very similar knee to the body that Silva, himself, had used against Sonnen in their recent clash. That, too, was for Silva. Jones’ message was loud and clear. He did something in one attempt that Anderson could not in two. Bones stopped the “Gangster from West Linn, Oregon” in the opening round.

Carl Dominguez
Las Vegas, Nevada

JON JONES’ KILLER INSTINCT SAVED HIM FROM CERTAIN DEFEAT

As we all know by now, Jon Jones broke his toe in his fight with Chael Sonnen. It’s a good thing he has that killer instinct and went hard for the finish. It would have cost him his belt if he had been content to pull a Ben Henderson or a Georges St-Pierre and hold Sonnen down until the bell to just win the round. That killer instinct and finishing ability is the difference between a true champion, the kind that everyone enjoys to watch and remembers forever, and just another contender or place holder for the belt until a real champion comes along.

Aaron Owen
Sandy, Utah

NIKE’S NEWEST JON JONES MARKETING PLANS

To: Jon Jones
Fr: Nike Marketing Dept.
Re: UFC 159 Win

Congrats, Jon, on your big win Saturday night. Obviously things could have gone better, but we here at Nike have come up with five new marketing ideas for you to help capitalize on the evening’s events:

These are just a few ideas we have. Have fun in Jamaica and we’ll talk when you get back!

Sincerely,

The Nike Marketing Department Staff

Derick Lyngholm
Eagle Lake, Minn.

CHAEL SONNEN A TRUE CLASS ACT

All tomfoolery and clowning aside, Chael Sonnen really earned my respect this past season coaching on “The Ultimate Fighter” and in defeat at UFC 159. He blew my mind with the coaching aspect for those “kids,” as he called them, and was a stand-up guy to opposing coach Jon Jones and his staff on the show. After his defeat on Saturday night, he gave the highest props imaginable to Jones and was the ultimate good sport about their fight. I also like him on the UFC’s show he hosts with Kenny Florian. Chael is one of the most interesting people in MMA, like him or not!

David Feinblatt
Palatine, Ill.

WITH SONNEN’S LOSS, WILL GAMESMANSHIP STOP DICTATING UFC TITLE FIGHTS?

Following Chael Sonnen’s loss to Jon Jones and Nick Diaz‘s defeat at the hands of Georges St-Pierre, have we seen the death of gamesmanship in the UFC? Diaz arguably earned his title shot against St-Pierre, but Sonnen did little more than talk his way into the fight. Both Diaz and Sonnen know how to promote a fight and get the matchups they want by talking a good game. But others like Michael Bisping, who has 17 fights in the UFC, have had to grind their way to get title shots. Bisping isn’t the only one though. Roy Nelson, Mark Hunt and an awful lot more are on good runs. Meanwhile, Brock Lesner and Alistair Overeem were both offered title fights almost instantly! Is it time the UFC started doing things the right way and give title shots to those that have worked their way up to be ranked No. 1 contender? I think it’s time hard work paid off, and those that prove their worth get the chance for glory.

Matt Carr
London, England

IT’S TIME FOR A GLOVE REDESIGN

There is no greater evidence for the need for new gloves in the UFC than the events of UFC 159. Fights went to a technical decision not once, but twice as a result of accidental pokes to the eyes of both Gian Villante and Alan Belcher. Eye pokes are replacing groin kicks as the most common foul in MMA, and the most frustrating aspect of it is that it is a preventable issue. MMA gloves must be padded in some way to protect the fighters’ hands, and the thumb must be separated from the fingers to allow for grappling. There are some MMA gloves that have padding from the knuckles up to the fingertips with the thumb separate. This seems like the safest option in the wake of UFC 159. These gloves may not be the answer, but something has to be done to stop this epidemic.

Darragh Murphy
Cork, Ireland

EYE POKE STOPPAGES COULD PROVE PROBLEMATIC

Two fights were stopped early at UFC 159 due to eye pokes: Michael Bisping vs. Alan Blecher and Ovince St. Preux vs. Gian Villante. Now in the case of Bisping’s accidental poke, he was clearly winning and showed no signs of slowing down, so to award him the win isn’t that big a deal. Where I do have a problem is seeing St. Preux given the decision when he was clearly in trouble and exhausted. Is this a new strategy to fighters who have won the first round but now find themselves in deep water? In my opinion, an eye poke should be a disqualification, not an early trip to the score cards.

George “hugefightfan” Wells
Ajax, Ontario, Canada

FANS’ TREATMENT OF MICHAEL BISPING SIMPLY UNFAIR

I literally just finished watching the Michael Bisping vs. Alan Belcher fight, and I have to submit this because I’m very upset. Over the eye poke finish? No, not at all – at the fans. Bisping immediately apologized and genuinely was sorry about the finish, and yet the fans booed like crazy during his post-fight interview. Come on, guys. I’m ashamed to be a part of a group of people who boo at a man who is really sorry about a crappy finish. Listen people, I know you drink a lot during these fights and want to see a photo finish, but you have no idea how easy it is to throw a punch with these gloves and just have a finger out you didn’t mean to. It is the equipment’s fault, not the fighter. Have a brain and think before you boo.

Scott Schultz
Fortville, Ind.

ONCE AGAIN, THE REALITY OF FIGHTING LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD

Ben Fowlkes said it best: “The violence does not care if you are good or bad or funny or well-liked. The violence cannot be negotiated with.” What unfolded during UFC 159 was non-negotiable. The champion in victory felt the pain of a toe injury. The two eye pokes were not a joke, and the thumb that was stationed during defense of a takedown lost its location. Many said the main event had no significance, yet it taught us many lessons. No matter what breaks or bleeds, the bull will continue to stampede.

Ahmed Omarzad
Central Valley, Calif.

REFEREES HAVE BAD NIGHTS, TOO

Just as Kobe Bryant can have a bad shooting night, Anderson Silva can have a bad night against Thales Leites and Demian Maia or Peyton Manning can have a bad day throwing five interceptions, referees can have bad nights, too. Kevin Mulhall had one of those nights at UFC 159. First, he didn’t see the eye poke that stopped Gian Villante in the third round, then a miscommunication ended the fight after the poke. Next, we see him break apart what looked like plenty of work and a position battle against the cage in the Roy Nelson vs. Cheick Kongo fight. And lastly, we witness him demand that the wrap on Alan Belcher’s ankles be removed, even though it had been signed and approved by a commission member. Clearly a bad night for Mr. Mulhall.

I must say that I was excited for the fight between Phil Davis and Vinny Magalhaes because it felt like a classic style vs. style matchup. Before the fight, Davis was hyping up wrestling as the superior grappling discipline while also saying it was not going to be a sloppy standup affair. So as a fan, I feel a bit cheated that he, the wrestler, chose not to even remain on top of Magalhaes to try to show how his wrestling is superior. I was really looking forward to seeing a battle of pride for the ground game with wrestling’s top control vs. jiu jitsu’s bottom game. Unfortunately that didn’t happen.

Sean Johnson
Houston, Texas

WAS MATT MITRIONE’S SHORT SUSPENSION A FAIR ORDER?

After Matt Mitrione’s vulgar verbal attack against transgender fighter Fallon Fox, some were surprisingly shocked and appalled while others wanted to see his job terminated. “Meathead’s” words where nothing but that, just words, but people that say words don’t hurt or mean anything live in denial. After 16 days on the UFC’s suspended list, Mitrione was put back on the active roster when it was announced that he would be meet fellow “TUF 10″ alum Brendan Schaub at UFC on FOX 8 in July. UFC President Dana White said the suspension wasn’t so much a punishment as it was a chance to speak with Mitrione about the situation. Mitrione apologized and was fined an undisclosed amount. Freedom of speech is one thing, and a verbal beatdown is another. The UFC needed to demonstrate their code of conduct, but a suspension for less than a month? What was the point to suspend him just to talk to him when a fine is all that it came to?

Ben McPhee
Prescott Valley, Ariz.

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HOW TO SUBMIT: Do you have an idea for next week’s edition of “The Sunday Junkie?” Send your submission of 150 words or fewer (no attachments please) to sundayjunkie @ mmajunkie.com with your full name or nickname, your hometown (city and state), a valid email address and a phone number (not to be published). Incomplete submissions will not be considered for publication. Only one submission per week is suggested, but we’ll consider multiple entries if they’re submitted separately. All submissions must be received by Sunday at 10 a.m. ET (7 a.m. PT).

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